Horse Illustrated Magazine

View Comments

• All i can say is, DO NOT DO THIS! DO NOT slide down your horse when you do emergency dismounts! If your horse is going at a gallop(which is when you would use this), you do not want to be sliding off your horse because you would end up underneath them. Very bad idea. What you want to do is put you feet out of the stirrups, and PUSH YOURSELF AWAY from the horse with the hand that is on the mane, so that you land on your feet and out of the way of flying hooves.

• I suggest to not jump of your horse if he/she is galloping (or something of the somesort)Ok,so say your horse is galloping and bucking (going crazy)just hold on and put TWO hands on the reins (NOT the horn!)and turn your horse's head so far it is almost touching your foot.And it helps(A LOT) cause when your horse's head is bent your horse can't go anywhere....think about it and do it the next time you just want to jump off and break a few ribs and mabie a leg!!!

• Obviously if your horse is galloping off with you, you'd want to push away - this tip is about PRACTICING to become CONFIDENT with just getting off. Don't risk a broken ankle by pushing away if it's not necessary. That's why it's suggested to just slide off - keep yourself safe.

• This is a simulation for an emergency dismount. The more you practice when your horse is calm and responsive, the more muscle memory you will develop. The Parelli Program is all about teaching our horses to be calmer, smarter and braver. This is a 10 minute tip. Before ever getting on your horse, do some ground exercises and make sure your horse is rideable before you get on! Only if my horse shows rhythm, relaxation and contact will I mount. This will highly reduce your risk on being on a runaway horse.
  Petra Christensen
  Parelli 1Star Junior Instructor
  Petra Christensen

• If you spend the right amount of time on groundwork exercises you should not be riding a horse that will bolt (becasuse it is respectful and acknowledges you as being the leader and because it has been desensitised to as many objects as you can think of), and you should have taught the horse to yield the neck and shoulders (in fact every body part) before you are even riding. I believe that as soon as you start thinking about the ground and how you are about to get off, that you will soon be there!! It is very very dangerous to get off a galloping horse and way safer to stay on. Keep upright and look ahead between the horses ears and stay balanced. If the horse has been taught to yield to pressure over and over again (you should not be riding if it has not been ), then you are far better getting the horse to yield its neck with a one rein stop. This does not mean to jerk the head around but to pull it around progressively towards your knee. This should have been practiced lots and lots of times already at the walk, trot, and canter, in a controlled environment (eg a round pen) before you are ever in a place where a horse may bolt. The only time you would ever think of an emergency mount at speed is if you are going over a cliff or something similar, the rest of the time my advice is to learn to ride it out.

• I totally disagree with the Emergency Dismount crap. I met a girl who was in a wheelchair with two broken legs, collar bone and just had her jaw unwired. She said she had to do an emergency dismount because her horse was going to fast. she was trappeled and almost killed. Ask yourself this? If you see a big tractor trailer coming at you that might hit you would you jump out of your car? Come on Pat. This should not be taught.

• I agree with the Kiwi!! I have been to your beautiful country and you know your horses!!! You are 100% right. Us Yanks huh? What ya gonna do with us? LOL. It should be called the deadly flying dismount. I dont know when this started this emergency dismount crap but its crazy.

• Why do all the people who comment assume that emergency dismounts are performed at a speed. What about cases where a horse has managed to get caught up in say a gateway for example and is panicked surely this kind of dismount would be beneficial. I didn't read anything that suggested I use this at a gallop???!

• Great advice for when a dismount is needed. It's best to stay on if you can but sometimes it's just not possible or wise!